<DIV>The sixteenth Parker novel, <I>Butcher’s Moon</I> is more than twice as long most of the master heister’s adventures, and absolutely jammed with the action, violence, and nerve-jangling tension readers have come to expect. Back in the corrupt town where he lost his money, and nearly his life, in <I>Slayground,</I> Parker assembles a stunning cast of characters from throughout his career for one gigantic, blowout job: starting?and finishing?a gang war. It feels like the Parker novel to end all Parker novels, and for nearly twenty-five years that’s what it was. After its publication in 1974, Donald Westlake said, ?Richard Stark proved to me that he had a life of his own by simply disappearing. He was gone.”<br><BR>Featuring a new introduction by Westlake’s close friend and writing partner, Lawrence Block, this classic Parker adventures deserve a place of honor on any crime fan’s bookshelf. More than thirty-five years later, <I>Butcher's Moon</I> still packs a punch: keep your calendar clear when you pick it up, because once you open it you won't want to do anything but read until the last shot is fired.</DIV>